Finished...
Not sure I like it much...
I've spent too much time on it...
The more I thought about the details, the more I kept on adding them...
And now pic is overwhelmed by details and... I dunno... BLEH!!!!

Anyway... Shintei... (main characters from my "Path of Destiny" story/manga... and the deer like creature is Andarien (female... males are Andarian)

Hope you like it more than I do...

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He walked along the wooden fence until he reached the arch gates and the dirt path that led to the cottage and big barns. There, a man stood, looking at him.
-"You must be Master Shintei?", man asked. He wore plain clothes, baggy and dirty at places. He seemed to be in late thirties.
-"Yes", he answered shorty, puzzled by that "master" part. "And you are...?"
-"The name is Flink... And you seem to be the first one of your crew that came," Flink gave him an examining look than paused for few seconds.
-"I think I have the right Andarien for you".
The stable man disappeared in the barn behind him. Shintei was left alone to examine the surroundings. The ranch was big. Big wooden fence reached all the way to the outer wall on the eastern side and forest on the north. With so much to do at streets of Rankaran Shintei rarely went beyond the inner wall. Besides, land between inner wall and outer wall was filled with farms, cornfields, orchards... It's a land with a purpose to grow food for the region. It was a very calming scenery, unlike busy streets of Rankaran.
-"Here, Master Shintei" Flink returned, followed by a small Andarien. "I hope you can ride?" he asked.
-"A little...",Shintei frowned, "Why is he so ...small?". The disappointment was obvious.
-"SHE'S young, Master Shintei. ... if I may say, she's more than strong enough to handle a skinny teenager."
Shintei didn't find this offending, after all, it was the truth. Instead he walked closer to the Andarien and patted it on the head. Animal seemed to enjoy the pat and shove her head in his arms.
-"ha ha!", Shintei giggled, "she's cute"
-"She like you too."
-"How old is she and what is her name?"
-"Yantek, she's almost 3 years old... And this is her first time outside the ranch."
Shintei gave him an alarming look.
-"Don't worry, she's well trained."
He felt a relief.
-"What would happen to her if something happen to us? Like we get separated or... killed...?
-"All Andarian and Andarien find their way back home. They have very good memory. Tho, Yantek has never been outside and she would never find the way back here."
Shintei felt a stab of sympathy, why does he always have such pessimistic thoughts.
-"But you don't need to worry about her," Flink continued, "She's a young, healthy female, any wild herd would accept her with no trouble".
That was a relief. He examined her closely. Even if she was smaller than regular riding Andarien, she was still way bigger than Shintei himself. He found it difficult to imagine how would he get up in the saddle. Last time he rode he had his teacher lift him up and down off the saddle. While he kept on hugging and scratching Yantek he heard multiple footsteps.
-"I believe these are your companions, Master Shintei?"


(little part of "Path of Destiny" (c) Ratko Glušević )